Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

You Don’t Have to Know Everything

Have you ever been talking with someone about your Catholic faith and suddenly found yourself at a loss for words? Perhaps they asked a question you couldn’t answer, challenged a teaching of the Church, or even claimed that Catholics aren’t Christians. Many faithful Catholics walk away from conversations like these feeling discouraged, wondering if they know enough to share their faith. Yet today’s Gospel (Matthew 10:7-15) reminds us that Jesus did not send His apostles because they had all the answers. He sent them because they knew Him. Their mission was not to win every argument but to proclaim that “the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As Catholics, we should always continue learning our faith and growing in our understanding of Scripture and the teachings of the Church. At the same time, there is no shame in saying, “That’s a good question. I don’t know the answer, but I’ll find out.” Our faith is not built on having an answer to every objection; it is built on a relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. The apostles themselves were still learning when Jesus entrusted them with His mission. Their confidence came not from knowing everything, but from trusting the One who had called them.

May we never let the fear of not having all the answers keep us from speaking about Christ. Instead, let us continue to deepen our knowledge of the faith while remembering that the most powerful witness we can give is a life rooted in Jesus. After all, Jesus didn’t tell His disciples to wait until they knew everything—He simply said, “Go.”